Performance of a standalone wind-hydrogen power system for regions with seasonal wind profile: A case study in Khaf region

The present study was aimed at performance and energy analysis of a hybrid wind-hydrogen power system. Such system consists of wind turbines, batteries for the short time energy storage, electrolyzer, fuel cell and hydrogen tank for long time energy storage. The proposed configuration is used to supply energy demand of a region with discrete seasonal wind speed regime. Temporary wind energy profiles restrict using batteries for electricity storage as they lose much electrical stored energy for the long time. Based on direct wind turbine usage, batteries and hydrogen storage, different energy supply strategies are introduced and analyzed to power the household electricity demand. The energy flow diagrams are presented and the system performances for proposed strategies are compared to illustrate the advantages and importance of various options to supply the energy demand. This paper investigates the possibility of using hydrogen storage system for regions with discrete seasonal wind regime (i.e., monsoon). A case study is done using practical data from the Khaf region in Iran. The results revealed that the wind speed profile has a very significant effect on the optimum system configuration and performance. The overall efficiency of the system was found to be 16.75%. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.